Pahtun, the City of Feather and Fur
The night was dark and calm in Pahtun. Peaches looked around the alleyway she was in. The coast was clear, and she prepared to make haste to the other side of the city as fast as she could. She took a risk, and started flying through the alleyways of the city towards the hideout. The authorities generally didn’t approve of that sort of thing, but she felt somewhat safe in the darkness of the moonless night. She was carrying a package from one cell of the Free Bird Association to another in the city. She hadn’t been told what she carried, nor which cell she was dropping it off for; she just knew her drop off point and the time it needed to be dropped off. Peaches had only been a part of the FBA for a few weeks now, and she was somewhat upset that they still didn’t trust her enough to entrust her with anything more than the odd mail-delivery venture. She hoped that tonight that if she did the job well that she might actually get to be a part of something more. She glided through the narrow alleyways of the city, and gently settled near a water pump in one of the poorer districts of the city. The birds always lived in the poorer districts. Peaches had a few minutes before she met her contact, and she found a nice spot in an alleyway that would let her watch the water pump. Her contact would apparently identify themselves by knocking on the pump three times, pause, then knock two more times. It was a strange code, but that seemed to be a theme in Peaches’ experience. After a few minutes, Peaches saw a shrouded figure approach the water pump, and knock on it three times, then two times. This was her time to shine. She started to approach the figure; however, upon stepping out of the shadows she noticed something terrifyingly unusual. The figure who had signalled for her was a cat. Sure, birds and cats were theoretically on the same side against the Empire; but it was still very suspicious. Jack looked around the pump as they signalled again, more frantically this time. They knew they were looking for a bird, and there was very little to dawdle. Jack had been told that they needed to intercept the FBA agent before the Imperial Guard could spring their trap on her. Jack spotted a bird trying to hide in the shadows, clearly trying her best but still pretty easy to spot. “An amateur, great,” Jack thought to themself. It was to be expected, they supposed, given how many double agents and spies had infested both the Free Bird Associations and the Mourlander Freedom Societies. Peaches saw the cat quickly approaching her, and she supposed that this was probably her contact, so she approached them slowly. Jack whispered frantically to the FBA agent “we have to get out of here, it isn’t safe.” Peaches began to panic, something was wrong and she didn’t know what to do. “A-are you with the FBA?” she managed to managed to sputter out. “I’m with the MFS, but it doesn’t matter, we have to get out of here fast!” Jack grabbed Peaches paw and started running and pulling her behind them. Peaches was about to protest, but then she heard the sound of Imperial Guard goons approaching the two of them. Peaches and Jack took off into the night. Captain Mikey of the Pahtun division of the Imperial Guard sprung out on the terrorist meeting spot. His dogs didn’t see anyone there, but they smelled trouble in the air. They set out to pursue the ruffians. Peaches and Jack wouldn’t be seen in public for awhile, they were waiting for the ire of the law to pass over them. Spending several nights hiding out together, they grew rather close talking about their lives and what they wanted. After awhile, they emerged out of hiding and became partners, as well as partners in crime. Category:Short Stories